Is the media all wet? Are the Cubs in hot water after "missing out" on David Price?
From Comcast Sportsnet Chicago:
- Patrick Mooney: Will Cubs make another splash in free agency? Pre-David Price signing, Mooney explores the possibilities, versus published quotes from Cub execs that they won't overspend.
- Mooney: Cubs have options with David Price heading to Red Sox for 217 million. Those options might include John Lackey, Jeff Samardzija, and Mike Leake. They probably don't include Zack Greinke. That rumor's just about extinguished.
- And, ICYMI late Wednesday, Mooney has the scoop on the Cubs' tendering contracts to all their arb-eligible players except Jack Leathersich (recovering from TJS) and Ryan Cook, who we barely knew. Clayton Richard and Rex Brothers agreed to terms, avoiding arb entirely.
From CBS Chicago:
- Bruce Levine: Second-tier free agents will work for Cubs pitching needs. Levine talks Samardzija, adds Scott Kazmir to the list.
From ESPN Chicago:
- Jesse Rogers: Missing on David Price not a winter killer for Cubs. Nothing has really changed, except that Price made a deal somewhere else.
- Buster Olney [INSIDER - $]: Price deal already sending ripples through NL. After missing out on David Price, where does Chicago go from here? Olney wonders if Samardzija is the answer or if the Cubs could pry Shelby Miller from the Braves.
From the Chicago Tribune:
- Clock ticking on Cubs after losing out on David Price. The Red Sox's record-setting agreement with free-agent left-hander David Price doesn't affect the Cubs' mission to add two starting pitchers. But the Cubs could find themselves relegated to trading highly coveted prospects if they can't sign a free-agent pitcher.
From the Chicago Sun-Times:
- Kyle Thele: Jeff Samardzija wants teams to know he's getting big-time offers. Whether he is or isn't, he's saying he is. Or his agent is saying that. Jayson Stark is quoted.
- Thele: Refocusing the teams' goals after missing out on David Price. The conceptual continuity is easy to see. Gordon Wittmeyer is quoted, and he views pitching and outfield as equal. He names Jason Heyward and Lonnie Chisenhall.
- Rob Ogden: Report: Braves "smitten" with Jorge Soler: Show me the love, Shelby Miller. Ken Rosenthal is quoted.
From Cubs Den:
- John Arguello: Should the Cubs choose more talent or more flexibility going forward? Lots of Theo Epstein's thinking on the matter and some speculation. It's a fair question considering fiscal responsibility. The Cubs don't want to get soaked.
From Bleacher Nation:
- Brett Taylor: Why Jason Heyward is where the Cubs should put their money and other bullets. Taylor endorses signing the outfielder in no uncertain terms.
- Luis Medina: Buyer Beware: The risks of big contracts for position players over 30. Albatross! Get your albatross here!
From Cubs Insider:
- Evan Altman: I'm kinda happy about the Cubs not getting Price...and other musings. I am too. One, he's not a Cardinal. Two, much money. Johnny Cueto? Miller time?
Miscellaneous:
- Barry Svrluga, Washington Post: The Cubs need starting pitching this season. But if they get it, whoa boy...speculations on the intriguing possibilities.
- Matthew Cerrone, Metsblog: If the Cubs sign Zobrist, they might trade Starlin Castro. Trade options, quoting Jesse Rogers. Zack Wheeler? Juan Lagares? I dunno.
Food for thought:
- Will fast food be the death of us? Hold that bronto-burger. Wait. I thought smoking killed the dinosaurs?
- Pitmasters fan the flames of all-wood barbecue. The old way is the right way. Restaurants increasingly embrace the trend.
- Lisa Pathfinder set to test space "ripples" technology: It will test the technologies needed to detect gravitational waves - the warping of space-time produced by cataclysmic events in the cosmos.Having such a capability would make it possible to detect the merger of monster black holes - a marker for the growth of galaxies through time.